Method for manufacturing multicolored glass fiber fabrics



March 30, 1965 FALLs ETAL 3,175,273

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING MULTI-COLORED GLASS FIBER FABRICS Filed June 10, 1958 BEAM OfGd/Y/C Bllvosq 5 ml h/y/r: FIL m6 O ms Cameo HI /c Z lMsPe'cr E V ORS HENRY 5. FALLS RICHARD C. HORTON BY A rrogmfxs United States Patent 3,175,273 METHOD FOR MANUFACTURMG MULTI- COLORED GLASS FlBER FABRICS Henry S. Falls, Slater, S.C., and Richard C. Horton, Hartsdale, N.Y., assignors to J. P. Stevens & Co., inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 10, 1958, Ser. No. 741,126 8 Claims. (Cl. 28-45) The present invention relates generally to multi-colored fabrics woven of glass fibers, and more particularly to a method for producing a highly-decorative fibrous glass fabric having warp yarns of one color and yarns of contrasting color in the fill direction.

It is conventional practice to coat or size glass fibers with an organic lubricant and binding agent, such as gelatin or starch. Such sizes act to facilitate the twisting, weaving and plying of glass fibers, for in the absence of sizes, the rubbing and chafiing encountered in a loom renders weaving operations more difficult.

After the glass fibers are woven into a fabric, it is necessary to remove or de-size the fabric since otherwise the fabric remains relatively stiff, it resists draping and generally lacks decorative qualities. Moreover, the sizing interferes with the application of finishes and inhibits the adhesion of the glass fibers to plastic, where lamination is required. The removal of organic sizes can be accomplished by washing, distilling, or scouring operations or by actually burning the size from the glass fiber. The most successful and widely used technique for de-sizing and finishing glass fabrics is known commercially as the Coronizing" process. In this process, after the sized fabric is woven it is first subjected to heat at approximately 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.

This intense heat ignites the organic sizes and leaves the fabric clean. In addition, the heat acts to soften and relax the glass fibers and to impart a permanent set to the weave, so that the resulting fabric is softer, hangs better and is more easily draped. The fabric is then passed through a finishing bath in which resin and pigment are applied, this step being followed by curing and an after treatment which gives the fabric wash-fastness and water-repellency.

The standard Coronizing process is by its very nature limited to the production of solid color glass fiber fabrics, in that the single color can only be introduced after the weaving operation and subsequent to the burning off of the organic size. It is not possible to apply organic dyestufi' in the warp yarn of the fabric, for these dyes would be completely degraded and volatilized in the Coronizing oven.

In view of the foregoing, it is the primary object of this invention to provide glass fiber fabrics having one color in the warp and another color in the fill, the warp yarns being sized prior to weaving and being thereafter de-sized without impairing the color therein.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel process in which a warp of fibrous glass yarn is treated with an inorganic pigment and an organic resinous binder, the treated warp yarns being interwoven with a filling yarn of contrasting color to produce a fabric which is then heated to remove the organic resinous binder, whereby the inorganic pigment remains on the warp.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a commercially feasible and relatively inexpensive technique for producing multi-colored glass fiber fabrics.

For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the attached drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an example of a multi-colored glass fiber fabric in accordance with the invention.

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FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the novel process according to the invention.

It is to be understood that the invention is applicable to any and all glass fibers or yarns, whether produced as continuous filaments or short staples, and however twisted or plied together. Included within the scope of this invention are such commercially produced fibers as Fiberglas manufactured by the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. and Fiber Glass made by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. and the Libby-Owens-Ford Company.

As shown in FIG. 1, a Woven fiber glass fabric according to the invention is constituted by warp yarns 16 of one color and fill yarns 11 interwoven with the warp yarns and having a different color. The invention is not limited to any pattern or method of weaving and may be carried out with any available commercial loom.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the process in accordance with the invention involves combining yarns from pirns or packages 12 onto a large cylinder or beam 13. The parallel strands of glass fiber drawn from. the beam are then slashed with an inorganic pigment and an organic warp size. Slasher 14 may take the form of a holder or creel for the warp beam, a box or tank to contain the pigmented warp size formulation, wiping or dressing rolls to remove the excess warp size from the fibrous glass yarn, a drying system consisting of heated cans or drums or an oven or other drying device, and a take-up mechanism.

The inorganic pigments may be such materials as cadmium salts, iron oxides, copper oxides and other metallic salts which are colored. Reds can be developed with the use of ferric oxide, yellows with the use of hydrated ferric oxide, blacks by ferro-ferric oxides and greens with the use of chromic oxide. All of these compounds are chemically stable and light-permanent.

The organic phase of the Warp sizing compound used in combination with the inorganic pigments, may be such substances as starch, gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, oil, wax or any other sizing material adapted to aid in the Weaving of fibrous glass fabrics.

One example of the formulation is 200 to 250 grams of the inorganic pigment to 10 lbs. of a 3.25% solution of E. I. du Ponts Elvanol 713O polyvinyl alcohol by weight in water. Among the commercially available inorganic pigments which may be used are Aridye Padding Brown R, Harshaw ultramarine, Aridye Padding Orange 2R, and Aridye Padding Grey.

The formulation is applied to the fiber glass at preferably 20 yds. per minute. Of course this speed depends on the size of the drying equipment and other factors which differ in different slashing installations.

The warp yarns, with the pigmented size applied in the slasher and dried, are then placed in the weaving loom 15. Plain fibrous glass yarns or colored fibrous glass yarns taken from the dyed warp, by a technique known as beam twisting 16, may be inserted into the colored warp in the fill or weft direction on the loom, resulting in a twoor multi-colored fibrous glass fabric on the loom. By combining two or more warp beams, a great variety of color effects may be realized.

The fabric is then taken from the loom and fed through a Coronizing oven 17 maintained at 900 to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit at such a rate that the organic material of the fibrous glass fabric is burned from the fabric, whereas the colored inorganic pigmentation remains thereon. The heat also softens and relaxes the glass to put a permanent crimp in the yarn and thereby set the weave permanently. From the Coronizing oven the fabric is treated in a padder 18 with a resinous finish to impart abrasion and crock-resistance to the fabric.

The resinous finish is then cured in a curing oven at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit and may thereafter be given an after-treatment for wash-fastness and water-repellency. The fabric is then rolled up on a roller 19 and finally sent to an inspection station 20.

It will be obvious that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the essential scope of the invention and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes as fall within the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of producing multi-colored fiber glass fabrics comprising the steps of coating first yarns with an inorganic pigment of a given color mixed with an organic size, interweaving said coated yarns with second yarns of a different color to produce a fabric, and heating said fabric at a temperature at which said organic size is removed and said pigment remains on said coated yarns.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said inorganic pigments are constituted by metallic salts which are colored.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said organic size is constituted by polyvinyl alcohol.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said mixture is constituted by an inorganic metallic salt pigment and polyvinyl alcohol.

5. The method of producing multi-colored fiber glass fabrics comprising the steps of passing glass fiber yarns from a Warp beam through a slashing station to coat said yarns with a formulation of inorganic pigment of a selected color and an organic sizing substance, feeding the coated warp yarns into a loom for interweaving with fill yarns of a contrasting color to produce a fabric, and heating said fabric at a temperature at which said organic 3. size is removed and said inorganic pigment remains on the warp yarns.

6. The method of producing multi-colored fiber glass fabrics comprising the steps of passing glass fiber yarns from a warp beam through a slashing station to coat said yarns with a formulation of inorganic pigment of a selected color and an organic sizing substance, feeding the coated warp yarns into a loom for interweaving with fill yarns of a contrasting color to produce a fabric, and heating said fabric at a temperature at which said organic size is removed and said inorganic pigment remains on the warp yarns, and finishing said fabric to impart abrasion and crock-resistance thereto.

7. The method, as set forth in claim 5, wherein a portion of the coated yarns from the slashing station are beam twisted and fed into the loom in the fill direction.

8. The method, as set forth in claim 5, wherein a plurality of warp beams are provided, the yarns therefrom being fed through separate slashing stations to coat same in different colors.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF PRODUCING MULTI-COLORED FIBER GLASS FABRICS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF COATING FIRST YARNS WITH AN INORGANIC PIGMENT OF A GIVEN COLOR MIXED WITH AN ORGANIC SIZE, INTERWEAVING SAID COATED YARNS WITH SECOND YARNS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR TO PRODUCE A FABRIC, AND HEATING SAID FABRIC AT A TEMPERATURE AT WHICH SAID ORGANIC SIZE IS REMOVED AND SAID PIGMENT REMAINS ON SAID COATED YARNS. 